Decision 2014: Measure 91 debate lights up

Are we going to be next to give marijuana the green light?

In two weeks, Oregonians will learn if recreational marijuana will become legal. As campaign donations pour in and supporters and opponents square off, the debate over Measure 91 is just now lighting up.

“This is a completely different drug, they call it green crack,” said No on 91 Director Mandi Puckett at a City Club of Central Oregon forum Thursday.

Advocates for legalizing marijuana were just as passionate.

“Don’t we have more pressing issues matters at hand then people possessing minor amounts of marijuana?” asked Measure 91 chief petitioner and coauthor Anthony Johnson.

At the forum Johnson and Puckett also provided a flurry of statistics and examples surrounding marijuana laws recently passed in Washington and Colorado — then claimed the other’s information was inaccurate.

“This is from Colorado department of transportation statistics,”Johnson said. “Traffic fatalities are near historic lows, legalizing marijuana has not caused havoc on the highways.”

That’s apparently not the whole story. Colorado state data from the Department of Transportation shows although traffic fatalities are decreasing, marijuana-related crashes are increasing.

“Their (Colorado) marijuana use for their 12 to 17 year-olds is 39 percent higher than the national average,” Puckett said.

However, the the latest reports from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment and the Centers for Disease Control cast doubt — each study either shows teen marijuana use is down and lower than the national average. — or has remained unchanged for years.

It’s enough to leave some in a cloud of confusion.

Here are some facts about the measure:

If 91 passes, Oregon adults 21 and older will be able to purchase and possess up to eight ounces of dried marijuana and four plants in their home. You’d also be able to carry up to one ounce of marijuana on you in public.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission would regulate and tax the drug. That money would be split between schools, drug prevention and treatment, public safety and the Oregon Health Authority.

Consuming marijuana in public or while driving will remain illegal.

If the measure fails, marijuana remains illegal for most. You wouldn’t be able to buy, sell or possess it unless you’re a part of Oregon’s medical marijuana program. On that note, no matter which way Measure 91 goes, medical marijuana stays the same.

Puckett said her number one concern as a mother and Certified Alcohol and Drug Prevention Specialist is that the drug will fall in the hands of kids.

“It’s a domino effect of more access to our youth, more availability to our youth, normalizing a drug, meaning more people will try it,” Puckett said.

But Johnson said all those points really point to reasons to pass the measure.

“Marijuana is already readily available to kids,” Johnson said. “It’s already sold by drug cartels and drug dealers. Legalizing, taxing and moving marijuana out of the criminal element into a regulated system funding drug prevention programs is a better system to keep marijuana out of the hands of teens.”

Anthony said the measure he helped craft combines the best parts of laws passed in Colorado and Washington. However, there is one part of Measure 91 routinely criticized. Unlike Washington, Measure 91 offers no rules for setting limits for THC to determine impaired driving.

“Driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal today,” Johnson said. “The fact is there is no scientific determination to how much THC in someone’s blood stream impairs them.”

Then there’s all that green predicted come from the green. State data from the office of revenue shows marijuana taxes could net between $7 and $13 million by 2017.

But Puckett does not buy it.

“Research already tells us for every one dollar gained in taxes, we spend ten dollars in social costs with alcohol and tobacco,” Puckett said. “Marijuana’s going to be no different.”

If Oregon legalizes marijuana it will become the third state to do so. Alaska and Washington D.C are also voting on full legalization, while Florida and Guam will vote to legalize medical marijuana.

‘Yes on 91’ has raised more than $2 million for its campaign, most of it from out-of-state donors. Meanwhile ‘No on 91’ has only raised about $200,000 — about half of that from the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association. ‘No on 91’ is not running any television ads, ‘Yes on 91’ is running multiple.